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Report on the outcome of the 2nd meeting of the South-North Joint Committee for Gaeseong Industrial Complex

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배성은

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2013-09-11

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Report on the outcome of the 2nd meeting of

the South-North Joint Committee for Gaeseong Industrial Complex

South and North Korea held the 2nd meeting of the South-North Joint Committee for Gaeseong Industrial Complex in the GIC from September 10 to 11, 2013.

-The meeting took place after having two general meetings, five meetings between the South and North Korean Chairman of the Joint Committee and three meetings between the South and North Korean Chairman of the Entry, Exit and Stay Sub-Committee.

-South and North Korea focused on resuming the military hot-line and confirming the schedule of the sub-committee meeting at the first meeting, which took place on September 2, 2013.

-At the second meeting, South and North Korea had a thorough negotiation and reached an agreement based on the results of the sub-committee meeting, which took place on September 4 and 5, 2013.

South and North Korea adopted an agreement in the form of a joint statement as written below :

-South and North Korea adopted the “Agreement on Establishment and Operation of the South-North Joint Committee for GIC and agreed to begin the operation of the Joint Committee sometime in September.

-South and North Korea adopted the “Annex Agreement on promoting the implementation of the Agreement on Formation and Operation of Inter-Korean Commercial Arbitration Committee.”

-The Sub-Committee of the “3C’s” (Come-and-Go, Communications and Customs) will introduce the RFID system this year so that people can enter and leave the GIC at anytime during the day once they receive a daily permit. The sub-committee will also continue discussions on how to provide the internet connection and telecommunication for cell phones. South and North Korea decided to continue discussing the matters pertaining to the daily travel permit into GIC with the responsible sub-committee even prior to the introduction of the RFID system.

-The Sub-Committee of the International Competitive Power agreed to invite foreign enterprises stationed in South Korea and foreign businessmen to a briefing on GIC investment sometime in October.

-The Sub-Committee of the Entry, Exit and Stay will exchange the “Annex Agreement on promoting the implementation of the Agreement on Entry into, Exit from, and Stay in GIC and Mt. Geumgang Tourist Zone” and further discuss and resolve the pending issues.

-In order to compensate for the GIC companies’ financial losses, South and North Korea agreed to give the GIC companies the tax exemption benefit for the year 2013. With regards to the North Korean workers’ wages from April, 2013 to present, the General Bureau of Guidance for Special Zone Development of North Korea and the GIC Management Committee will further discuss and reach an agreement on this matter.

*The GIC companies’ tax payment for the year 2012 is now extended to the end of 2013.

-The GIC companies will begin testing machines on September 16 and resume operation.

-The Sub-Committee meeting will take place on September 13 and the 3rd South-North Joint Committee for GIC will take place on September 16.

South and North Korea were not able to reach an agreement on the issue of entry, exit and stay in the GIC, but were able to narrow down the major differences. The remaining issues will be settled at the sub-committee meeting, which is scheduled to take place on September 13.

Through the 2nd meeting of the South-North Joint Committee for GIC, South and North Korea established a systematic framework, which will help the GIC become a stable industrial complex that has international competitive power.

Based on this agreement, the date on GIC resumption has been set and we evaluate that this agreement will serve as a vital step towards achieving an advanced level of normalization.

-Furthermore, it will promote trust-building between the two Koreas and it will make a positive contribution to achieving durable and stable development of inter-Korea relations.